Synoptic Gospels

This article explores the literary relationship between the Matthean tradition and
the Ascension of Isaiah, a second-century pseudepigraphon detailing Isaiah’s
visions of the ‘Beloved’ and his polemical (and fatal) engagement with the
‘false prophet’ Belkira. While the lexical affiliation between these texts has
been a point of interest, the discussion has oscillated between types of sources
utilised, whether gospel material mutually shared with Matthew or Matthew
itself. Though this paper details lexical contact, it pushes beyond philological
similarity and posits narrative imitations as well as shared polemical strategies.
The result is that Isaiah is more readily seen as a figure fashioned after the
Matthean Jesus, and the ‘martyred prophet’ motif that ripples throughout the
Gospel of Matthew as appropriated and narrativised by the Ascension of Isaiah
for a second-century conflict over prophetic practices.

In Matt 9:10-13, the disciples of Jesus are asked why their master eats with tax-collectors and sinners. Both the question and the threefold answer are analysed in this study. Wisdom traditions prescribe Torah teachers not to engage with blatant sinners. This approach becomes contested in the first century C.E., as is clear from Pharisaic disputes on sinners and tax-collectors. In his answer, Jesus characterises himself as the divine doctor, who stirs the capacity to repentance by his sheer presence. The quote of Hosea functions as a legal justification of this strategy. Hos 6:6 points to the concept of good works, benevolent actions that save even blatant sinners.

Despite John's distinctive and theological character, however, it still renders an independent memory of Jesus of Nazareth deserving full consideration in any effectively critical quest for the historical Jesus. The question is how do to so adequately, given the unique origin and development of the Johannine tradition. If John represents a self-standing Jesus tradition with its own points to make, however, differences with Mark and the Synoptics might contribute to a sense of history rather than diminishing it.

This paper argues that the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) can profitably be understood as a second Deuteronomy. The author makes his case through the development of strong conceptual links between these texts such as presentation and interpretation of Torah, Jesus as the greater Moses within Matthew, and the concluding calls at Matt 7:24-27 and Deut 30:11-20 to choose obedience (=life). This linking has many interesting results including advancing the concept of "Torah" as instruction that demands a response because it comes from God to man through authorized teachers and the strengthening of the depiction of Jesus as the greater Moses (i.e., the greater law giver/interpreter).

Author's Note I am thankful for the opportunity to present this paper at the 2021 EABS. I am thankful for the organizers and the participants. I wish to state up front that this is a draft of an idea. This is the first step toward a paper. This is a draft of a draft. In other words, I am very thankful for the kind reception and assistance that was given. In that vein, I have included the comments that were given in the Canonical Approaches to the Bible program unit after I read the paper. Their comments will make the paper better in the end.

In the wake of the Gospels' accounts, modern scholars do not pay much attention to the role Romans played in Jesus of Nazareth's arrest, and are prone to give credit to manifestly biased sources. Besides, some misconceptions (e.g. that the military in pre-War Judaea was exclusively confined to its largest cities) prevent them from seriously weighing up the possibility that the role of the Romans in Jesus' fate was more decisive than usually recognized. In this article, we reconsider a number of issues in order to shed light on this murky topic. First, the nature and functions of the Roman military in Judaea are surveyed (for instance, Palestine before the Jewish War had a robust network of fortlets and fortresses, which Benjamin Isaac has argued largely served to facilitate communication into the hinterlands). Second, we track some traces of anti-Roman resistance in the prefects' period (6-41 CE), Third, the widely overlooked issue of the intelligence sources available to Roman governors is tackled. Fourth, the extent of the problems of the Passion accounts is seriously taken into account. The insights obtained are then applied to the Gospels' story, thereby rendering it likely that Pilate had some degree of "intelligence" regarding Jesus and his followers before their encounter in Jerusalem that led to the collective execution at Golgotha.

Recent studies of ancient compositional practices and the Synoptic Problem have validated the Two-Source Hypothesis and challenged the “Augustinian,” Farrer–Goulder, and Griesbach Hypotheses. These studies conclude that, according to the Two-Source Hypothesis, subsequent evangelists would have adhered to the Greco-Roman conventions of working with one source at a time and not working backward through a text. The present essay adduces counterexamples such as the Greek Minor Prophets Scroll from Naḥal Ḥever, which predates the Gospels, and Tatian’s Diatessaron, which postdates the Gospels. Upon further examination, simultaneously accessing multiple sources and reordering those sources were established compositional practices in the first century. Moreover, every solution to the Synoptic Problem necessitates such scribal conventions. Therefore the lesser extent of these ancient compositional practices does not privilege the Two-Source Hypothesis over its rivals.

This is a proof which contains some mistakes.Full titel: Jan Dochhorn: Man and the Son of Man in Mk 2:27-28. An Exegesis of Mk 2:23-28 focussing on the Christological Discourse in Mk 2:27-28 with an Epilogue concerning Pauline Parallels, in: Eve-Marie Becker et alii (Hrsgg.): Mark and Paul. Comparative Essays, Part II: For and against Pauline Influence on Mark (BZNW 199), Berlin 2014, 147–168.

Este estudio se basa en una investigación previa sobre el relato premarquiano de la pasión. El análisis redaccional muestra que el autor del Evangelio de Marcos ha reelaborado este relato tradicional para unirlo al resto de su narración. Por otro lado, el estudio redaccional de Mc 1-13 revela que el propósito de algunas referencias añadidas por el evangelista fue introducir el relato de la pasión. Estas observaciones permiten proponer una explicación del proceso de composición de este evangelio. El autor de Marcos utilizó el relato tradicional de la pasión como modelo e incluyó en su narración tradiciones y composiciones orales a las que dio forma siguiendo el esquema de un resumen tradicional de la actividad pública de Jesús. De este modo, Marcos “narrativizó” a la tradición sobre Jesús y lo hizo siguiendo el modelo de las biografías antiguas, un nuevo molde literario que tuvo importantes implicaciones teológicas

This paper presents a text-oriented survey of some ongoing experimentation in translating the Bible poetically in the Chichewa language of Malawi and Zambia. An initial overview features a summary of ten important stylistic characteristics of the ndakatulo popular lyric genre along with illustrations of their use and comments on their varied communicative function, all selected from the publications of a number of well-known local poets. Certain aspects of this ndakatulo style are then applied in a creative poetic rendition of the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) in Chichewa. This version is comparatively evaluated in relation to two existing translations of this same biblical text, one being very literal in nature, the other much more idiomatic. In conclusion, some wider implications and possible applications of this study are discussed, including several proposals for future research and testing in the field of translating sacred texts into the Bantu languages of south-central Africa.

In this book, Sabine R. Huebner explores the world of the protagonists of the New Testament and the early Christians using the rich papyrological evidence from Roman Egypt. This gives us unparalleled insights into the everyday lives of the non-elite population in an area quite similar to neighboring Judaea-Palestine. What were the daily concerns and difficulties experienced by a carpenter's family or by a shepherd looking after his flocks? How did the average man or woman experience a Roman census? What obstacles did women living in a patriarchal society face in private, in public, and in the early Church? Given the flight of Jesus' family into Egypt, how mobile were the lower classes, what was their understanding of geography, and what costs and dangers were associated with travel? This volume gives a better understanding of the structural, social, and cultural conditions under which figures from the New Testament lived.

The sample rough draft of Hebrew Matthew chapters 1 and 2 attempts to compare the Hebrew Matthew MSS available today with more being discovered. The format chosen is English with Hebrew variants listed within the Hebrew MSS as noted.

This is part of a larger attempt to translate and study the 4000+ Hebrew New Testament MSS I recently found from around the world.

I presented my paper, "THE REDISCOVERY OF CODEX BEZAE CANTABRIGIENSIS AND ITS SUBSEQUENT EFFECT ON THE RECEPTION OF LUKE 16:19-31" in room Central 214 of the Pontifical Gregorian University on Friday, July 05. My lecture was part of the Synoptic Gospels program unit (chairs: J. R. C. Cousland and John P. Harrison), which met for presentation at the 2019 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) in Rome, Italy (July 01-05, 2019). The Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Gregorian University were the host institutions.

Description:
The Synoptic Gospels, which have formed a coherent unit since antiquity, have played an important role in modern scholarship. This section provides an open forum for the presentation of papers, from a variety of perspectives and using a variety of methods, on these seminal religious texts.

Call for papers:
This year’s primary focus will be on the parables in the Synoptic tradition. The Synoptic Gospels Section will have three sessions: i) a session for invited papers only on the parables; ii) a general invitation for papers related to the parables in the synoptic tradition, with particular focus on matters of material culture and methodologies; and iii), a general invitation for papers on the Synoptic Gospels. There are plans to publish a selection of studies on the parables.

One of Jesus' memorable phrases is " there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. " It is an apocalyptic phrase without identical extant parallels in ancient literature. The presence of " weeping " often leads to the conclusion that this language is about sorrow and mourning. This study argues that the " gnashing of teeth " is an act of rage. First, it considers parallels with usage in the NT, OT, and extra-biblical literature. Second, it examines how this phrase is used within the narrative scenes of Matthew and Luke. Third, it highlights how this phrase contributes to the identification of Jesus' opponents.

In his objective study of the texts, Maurice Bucaille clears' away many preconceived ideas about the Old Testament, the Gospels and the Quran. He tries, in this collection of Writings, to separate what belongs to Revelation from what is the product of error or human interpretation.

His study sheds new light on the Holy Scriptures. At the end of a gripping account, he places the Believer before a point of cardinal importance: the continuity of a Revelation emanating from the same God, with modes of expression that differ in the course of time. It leads us to meditate upon those factors which, in our day, should spiritually unite rather than divide-Jews, Christians and Muslims.

As a surgeon, Maurice Bucaille has often been in a situation where he was able to examine not only people's bodies, but their souls. This is how he was struck by the existence of Muslim piety and by aspects of Islam which remain unknown to the vast majority of non-Muslims. In his search for explanations which are otherwise difficult to obtain, he learnt Arabic and studied the Quran. In it, he was surprised to find statements on natural phenomena whose meaning can only be understood through modern scientific knowledge.

He then turned to the question of the authenticity of the writings that constitute the Holy Scriptures of the monotheistic religions. Finally, in the case of the Bible, he proceeded to a confrontation between these writings and scientific data.

The results of his research into the Judeo-Christian Revelation and the Quran are set out in this book.

An introduction to conflations in the texts of New Testament documents - focusing upon, and challenging, Hort's proposals that conflations in Byzantine MSS' texts imply that the Byzantine Text is derivative of the Alexandrian and Western text-types.

Seven years, and a bibliography of over 100 pages: that is what Detlev Koepke invested in researching the gospel of Thomas.
Over 600 carefully worded pages disclose in great detail his intricate study and findings on Jesus in the gospel of Thomas as well as in the New Testament, and Q.
Mary Magdalene, John the Baptist and James are discussed in a separate chapter each, and we are presented with a full translation from Coptic, and a commentary on the gospel of Thomas.

The second half of this book focuses on the New Testament and history of Christianity: its historical background, Josephus, Paul, the Roman Empire and Christian persecution are some of the highlights.
Detlev Koepke passed away in 2015, leaving behind a truly majestic piece of work on the gospel of Thomas, its relation to Christianity, and the historical Jesus. A most complete work on the combination of these topics.

Detlev Koepke was fluent in 4 languages, and learned ancient Greek and Coptic specifically for and during his research. Most of his research was conducted utilising Harvard Divinity School library as well as his own extensive personal library: "no stone has been left unturned".

2021 edition, republished with permission from his son, David Koepke

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Includes Discussion content (92 pages) - see https://www.academia.edu/57161277/Publication_List_and_Discussion_Content_access

The claim in recent conversations among Lutherans and Pentecostals that the " pure gospel " and " full gospel " paradigms held respectively by each tradition represent contrasting theological principles is examined through a historical and theological study of the notion of " gospel. " The two paradigms, although not mutually exclusive, identify different hermeneutical and doctrinal commitments that suggest that the contrast between the two traditions exists not in the idea of the gospel but in its mode of expression.

The study of Jesus in the Qur'an might profitably begin with the fact that there he is called not the expected Arabic Yasu' but rather the unaccountable 'Isa. From there the reader of the Qur'an may wonder to what extent the writer of the materials on Jesus was familiar with the canonical Gospel accounts that had circulated widely and extensively in the Middle East during the six centuries preceding the emergence of Islam. The Qur'anic portrait of Jesus is full of mysteries, lacunae, and intriguing questions.

Mark 7.15, which contrasts two modes of defilement, appears in the gospel as a response to the Pharisaic custom of washing hands before eating. In this article, it is argued that this custom embodies an innovative approach to ritual impurity. Hand washing, which originated, so it is argued, in the Greco-Roman practice, was promoted by the Pharisees along with other purity laws, but stands in contrast to the biblical priestly purity system. In this logion, Jesus rejects the Pharisees' new conception of ritual purity, which was designed to guard the self from impurity. This interpretation offers both a coherent narrative and a plausible understanding of the custom within its historical-social context.

This is the revised final draft of one of the two lead papers presented at the SNTS pre-conference on The Johannine Question. It covers the last half-century of Johannine paradigms, critiques Pierson Parker's 21 objections to the son of Zebedee having ANYTHING to do with the Johannine tradition, and introduces three aspects of overlooked evidence on the subject.

I believe it was published in 2018:

Paul N. Anderson, “The Son of Zebedee and the Fourth Gospel: Some Clues on John’s Authorship and the State of the Johannine Question.” El Evangelio de Juan. Origen, Contenido y Perspectivas--The Gospel of John. Origin and Perspectives, eds. B. Estrada and L. G. Sarasa, Colección Teología Hoy 80 (Editorial Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 2018).

The first of three volumes  that focus on perseverance and apostasy, salvation and judgement,  and community identity . The first volume  covers the  Gospels, Acts, and Johannine letters. The first volume also covers the meaning of apostasy..

Convocation Address at Bethel University, August 29, 2016 about recent troubles in Minnesota, particularly the shooting of Philando Castille, and our responsibility as followers of the Gospel. There is an audio link also available. After you click the link, it's the first one in the queue; fast-forward to 15:00:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/2016-2017-chapel-college-arts/id1148681753?mt=10

Kenneth Hagin (1917-) represents and is widely accepted as the father of the Word of Faith Ministries1 though his mantle has largely
fallen to Kenneth and Gloria Copeland who, through the magazine “Believer’s Voice of Victory,” promulgate a similar message concerning
healing.2 Because of the impact of his teaching concerning healing,3
with its attendant reactions,4 it is appropriate to analyze his beliefs and practices. Despite his attempts to prove that Christians may emulate the
healing ministry of Jesus, he assumes major differences that undermine
such a link. These will now be explored.

Hvad kan der videnskabeligt siges om den historiske Jesus? I kilderne uden for Det Nye Testamente finder vi kun oplysninger om hans død, messiastitel og broderen Jakob. Desuden har Jesus’ liv berøringspunkter med samtidige messiasfigurer, der kritiserer romerne eller det jødiske tempel.

تقدم هذه المساهمة قراءة كتابية ولاهوتية للعدل والعدالة في التراث الكتابي وفي اللاهوت المسيحي المعاصر. أثناء العرض يفسَّر بعض النصوص النبوية والحكمية من العهد القديم مع تسليط الضوء على الرابط المشترك بنصوص مهمة من العهد الجديد وخصوصًا في العظة على الجبل. في العموم يسعى الإنسان إلى العدالة لأنه بحاجة إلى سياق مجتمعيّ منظم ولكن المسيحي يسعى إليه أولاً لأنه يريد أن يسلك بحسب وصية الرب أن نحب القريب كأنفسنا ولأنه مدعو أن يقتدي بالله في كل ما يفعله من أجل الآخرين..
يُظهر المؤمن إيمانَه في الأعمال، وبالتالي يعبر عن رأيه المستقيم  بعمله المستقيم أيضًا الذي يتجلى بشكل خاض في معاملته للقريب وللبيئة.

This brief essay describes minuscule 1780, a complete Greek manuscript of all 27 books of the New Testament.  This is one of only two such manuscripts in the United States.  Digital page-views are online, and this essay features an index of the New Testament books in the manuscript.  In addition, minuscule 1780's text of First Peter 1:1-12 is compared to the same passage in Codex Sinaiticus, and the outcome shows that in those 12 verses, 1780 has the more accurate text. 
(3 pages, with embedded links)

Stories with Intent is a comprehensive commentary on every parable of Jesus. Although the commentaries may have similar content, Snodgrass includes parables from each synoptic gospels and includes two or three versions of the parable when this occurs (The Mustard Seed in Matthew 13:31-32, for example). Snodgrass includes two chapters of introduction to parables (sixty pages) where defines and classifies parables and discusses interpretive strategies. He recognizes that some parables have allegorical elements, but these do not give the interpreter warrant to allegorize anything and everything in a parable (p. 17). In the body of the commentary, he often interprets some element of a parable without resorting to the kinds of allegorical interpretation found in ancient commentaries or popular preaching. 

What makes this book an especially rich resource for parables interpretation is the collection of parallel material for each parable. While there are collections of rabbinic parables or parallels to early Christian literature, Snodgrass conveniently places the text of these parallels alongside his commentary on the parable. Sometimes these parallels seem strained, but since the goal of the volume is a “comprehensive guide,” this is understandable.

Darrell Bock and Mitch Glaser have edited several recent books on the topic of Israel, including To the Jew First: The Case for Jewish Evangelism in Scripture and History (2008), The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 (2012), The People, the Land, and the Future of Israel (2012), and Israel, the Church and the Middle East (2018), all published by Kregel. This volume collected essays from the staff of Chosen People Ministries, an evangelistic mission to Jews led by Glaser.

In the introduction to the collection, Mitch Glaser asks “Why Study the Passover?” For a Jewish person, Passover is a celebration of God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt. The feast celebrates the symbols of Sinai, Torah, and redemption. For a Christian, celebrating Passover is an opportunity to deepen one’s appreciation for the Jewishness of the Gospel. For Glaser, this “common experience” can better communicate the Gospel to Jewish friends (20).

Questions about areas of controversy or conflict between the Christian faith and the academic discipline can (and sometimes do) assume an easy dichotomy between the two. One's dual commitments to "the Faith" and the guild are often seen as competing allegiances, each vying for possession of the Christian soul. The guild may even be perceived as intolerant or antagonistic toward the Christian faith. Would-be Ph.D. students of evangelical backgrounds, for example, are often warned not to be naïve, but to be suspicious of secular institutions of higher learning. Such was my experience, as I left Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.; Th.M.) for doctoral work in NT at Emory University. The problem with the aforementioned formulation, however, is the a priori "us versus them" mentality it fosters-a mentality that can foreclose genuine learning opportunities and undermine the very faith it seeks to defend. It also assumes a broad consensus among Christians on the identity and definition of those items of the faith in need of safeguarding vis-à-vis "the guild." Little did I know that upon returning to my alma mater, I would be the one suspected of having wavered from "the Faith."

This outline builds on the foundation laid in The Christology of the Fourth Gospel, contributing also to my Bi-Optic Hypothesis, an overall theory of Johannine composition and the history of the Johannine situation, and the relation between history and theology in the Johannine tradition. It was presented as a short paper at the 2016 SNTS meetings in Montreal along with other handouts.